On the night of July 1, 1992, a Black male accosted a young couple sitting by Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans The man pointed a gun at the male victim’s face and demanded money. When he said that he didn’t have a wallet, the male victim was forced into the water after the gunman threatened the female victim. She was taken, at gunpoint, to her boyfriend’s car. The gunman forced her to drive to the back of a supermarket and raped her in the car. He took items from the car as he fled, getting into a car that followed them to the scene.
Police broadcast a description of the suspect and produced a composite sketch. On the day after the crime, the female victim told police that a bank book was found in the male victim’s car. The checkbook bore the name of Darrin Hill. Just over two weeks later, the female victim identified Mr. Hill’s photo. He was arrested in August 1992, though his height and weight differed significantly from the female victim’s description of the perpetrator. Mr. Hill, due to mental illness, was found not guilty by reason of insanity in February 1999 and indefinitely committed to a forensic facility. He was granted conditional release to a secure group home in December 2010. Mr. Hill maintained his innocence.
In 2011, after receiving a National Institute of Justice grant, Innocence & Justice Louisiana was able to locate the rape kit collected in this case. Innocence & Justice Louisiana and the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office filed jointly for postconviction DNA testing. DNA testing results proved Mr. Hill’s innocence. Further investigation established that Mr. Hill’s acquaintances had manipulated him into opening a bank account. They then stole his checkbook.
Mr. Hill was exonerated in April 2012, after nearly 20 years of confinement for a crime he didn’t commit.